Stay With Me Tonight
by Iroka
Summary: Grieving over her father, Ino realizes she's not the only to lose a loved one or need comfort from the event. InoDarui. One-Shot. War Arc.


_Baby, stay with me tonight_

_It's a while before the light will win_

_And I'd love to have you here to tuck me in, oh,_

_Baby, I hate to be needy_

_It's just the shadows seem kind of seedy_

_And I'm begging you to stay here with me_

* * *

Numb is what she felt. The numbness of being too accustomed to death and disappointment. If there were any shinobi that could read minds without casting a jutsu like her, they never made themselves known to her inner cry for help.

Shikamaru would be along soon to comfort her, perhaps Chouji. Surely someone would come around and give their condolences.

"Why would they?" She retorted back to herself. "This is war and we've lost half our men, why would a death that affected _me_ be any different?" Sure, losing Neji was devastating, but nothing could compare to the pain of losing a father. Nothing had quite hit home like hearing his last words before his impending doom.

A strong hand clasped around her slender shoulder and for a moment she assumed it was Chouji at last, before she noticed the skin tone was off.

"Captain Darui," Ino looked taken aback. The two had never really communicated even on the battlefield.

His hand lifted from her shoulder to behind his head, he gave a lazy smile, seeming almost embarrassed. "Sorry, you seemed you needed some comfort over here. Shikamaru mentioned-

Her eyes tensing surprised him, had he said something wrong?

"Shikamaru sent you over here to comfort me?" She asked back not looking at him. The nerve of the guy to send someone in his stead! Was he_ that_ busy?

"It's not like that," Darui gave a lazy smile "...I lost someone at the same time as your father."

Pupiless blue eyes met his, searching for the rest.

"Mabui..." He began.

"The raikage's assistant." Ino said softly, realizing Kumo people were in the building as well.

"Yeah, my cousin." He nodded sadly.

She clung to her legs, feeling guilty already. "Your cousin, the others and your entire village destroyed. I really shouldn't be complaining."

"You weren't complaining, and even if so, it's dull to grieve alone."

Ino bit her lip, not sure whether to smile or cry. "Grieving together does help a lot... When Shikamaru and I lost our sensei, we grieved by getting revenge."

"I heard about that, you took out two Akatsuki for it." His look was lazy yet earnest.

"The Akatsuki also took out a teammate of mine, Yugito."

She found herself focusing less on her grievance and more on the things these two had in common with each passing word. "We have... so much in common... in the bad luck department."

They both shared a half laugh. Speaking to someone who wasn't a teammate or close friend made her feel better. Knowing that other shinobi in the world went through the same pain as her, it really brought the cause of all five nations working together hit home. She finally understood what it meant to be an alliance. If a man with no connection to her could also have teammates, family and a village destroyed, then how were they really any different from one another?

"Hopefully we have more in common than sorrow, or that would make this extremely dull."

"Maybe one day we'll find out." A smile broke on her face at the same time a single tear dropped.

He looked at her concerned and she felt the embarrassment of letting emotion show. She wanted to blurt out something about being an overly emotional Konoha nin-like she heard all the other villages criticize- but she let no words out as she felt his hand grace her cheek and wipe away the tear.

The two shared a comfortable silence staring at each other, oblivious to the people walking back and forth, going on with thoughts of the war, Akatsuki and the loved ones they missed. For those few long, silent moments, they both felt peace and nothing else.

"I... don't want to be alone right now." She admitted, not sure why she even blurted that out. She was not in a right state of mind and desperate for comfort.

"You're a popular girl with a lot of friends that all would be more than accommodating to help you out. But if it's not too dull, could you help keep me company as well?"

She sniffled, forcing back unattractive tears and snot while nodding. Standing up from her seat, she walked side by side with him, not knowing where they were going. And frankly, she didn't care.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, here's another DaruiIno one-shot. I received reviews and PMs of making another. I ignored them, thinking it was a one time thing, but I saw those lyrics to a song and this came into fruition...**

Feel free to let me know if my Darui is ooc. It was kinda hard having anything remotely romantic happen with his lazy attitude. Let's just say they were both grief-stricken which is a time we all do crazy stuff. lol


End file.
